Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Bill Gates: Teachers need real feedback

FILMED MAY 2013 • POSTED MAY 2013 • TED Talks Education
TED Talks Education

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273 total comments
 
  • 9 hours ago: It is so true... because of the reality that we live every day, sometimes I feel like I am limited. And thank you for this video and for all videos about education... I have to learn a lot of new things... to improve my teaching methods.
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    Jul 9 2013: Interesting that he says "everyone needs a coach" and " we all need people who will give us feedback, that's how we improve." I have been developing a business model over the last 8 months with one of the key concepts of offering coaching for teachers of all kinds. I launched a week ago and five days later heard this TED Talk for the first time. The realms of life coaching, business coaching, fitness coaching and others have exploded in the last decade but you don't hear much about teacher coaching. I know some schools offer mentors but it sounds like those are few. Coaching is future focused providing someone to come alongside, give feedback, ask probing questions, help to set goals for improvement, offer accountability to keep moving forward and a cheerleader to encourage and motivate. 
    Some teachers have stepped out on their own to develop teaching collaboration groups for support and feedback. I applaud the concept to expand coaching more into the realm of teaching. Video is a good tool as demonstrated in the presentation, but just one tool. It should go further with people helping people. Great and encouraging presentation.
  • Jul 9 2013: So one of the most interesting things in the video Mr. Gates embedded was that all students had an Ipad. What was also interesting was that students all had their phones on their desks during instructional time. Raise your hand if your district cannot afford to purchase Ipads for all students...

    Who are the 3000 teachers that are involved? I wasn't asked. Anyone else?
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    Jul 1 2013: Teachers do diserve better. In India most teachers are not teachers by choice, they are teachers because nothing else worked. Not saying they are bad, they do a lot and shoulder a big responsibility, specially in a country like India where the needs for education are very challenging. I really feel that teachers are essentially leaders, yet very little leadership development is involved in preparing to be a teacher. Its about the mindset and approach and worldview that opens up possibilities. When I'm feeling insecure myself, what will I instill in the future generations? This may be the most important group of people in building a new future.
  • Jun 25 2013: ز آموزگار تعاریف و شناختار های فراوانی در فرهنگ های تخصصی و همگانی آورده شده است. درفرهنگ فارسی عمید، آموزگار هم ارز با واژه هایی مانند : تعلیم دهنده ، آموزاننده و معلم آورده شده است . در واژه نامه دهخدا نیز آموزگار را به معنی آموزاننده ، استاد و معلم معنی شده است. درفرهنگ علوم رفتاری شعاری نژاد دو شناختار از واژه آموزگار آورده شده است : کسی که دوره پرورش آموزگاری را پایان رسانده است و برای آموزش به گروهی از دانش آموزان یا دانشجویان دریک نهاد آموزشی پژوهشی، و پرورشی گماشته شده است. درفرهنگ آکسفورد، آموزگار به آنکس گفته شده است که "تدریس می کند به ویژه تدریس در مدرسه " .
  • Jun 16 2013: I appreciate too the attention that the important duty of teaching and the field of education are receiving.
  • Jun 15 2013: In the UK there is a really good system called Iris connect - I interviewed them last year - see this blog about it > http://www.l4l.co.uk/?p=2656
  • Jun 13 2013: I don't agree that teachers only receive one word of feedback. That has not been my experience over the past 28 years in the field, across 3 districts and 4 schools. There were post observation meetings and end of year evaluation meetings in which proficiencies and areas of need were documented and discussed. perhaps I am in the 2% that he alluded to. Also there are a few too many conclusions applied with a broad brush in the opening statement. A more balanced expression of his opinions would be more fair.
    I do agree however that student achievement needs to be raised - in order for students to have a greater sense of fulfillment relative to the school experience and in order to develop learners who can continue to develop our nation. I appreciate the attention that the important duty of teaching and the field of education are receiving. We would do well to examine our practice and determine how to make improvements that will be beneficial to the continued growth of our students and to the betterment of the profession.
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      Jun 29 2013: Here, Mr. Gates is not talking about 3-4 Schools. He is talking about the country as a whole. After a deep analysis about the Teaching System, Mr. Gates has presented his talk in TED.

      I do agree with Mr. Gates. Most of the Teachers don't receive proper feeback.
  • Jun 12 2013: Bill Gates is right on. My own experience has convinced me that teaching must be turned into a true profession for the benefit of both students and teachers. 

    Immediately after college, I taught Junior High School science. The first year, I was eager to have coaching to improve my teaching, but nothing was available. With one particularly difficult class, I asked if someone could observe my class and give me feedback and suggestions. I was sent a social worker (who had never taught in a classroom) to observe my classroom for one day - no suggestions. I eventually went to medical school and was struck with the contrast between medical training and teacher training. I was not put out on my own after 4 years of medical school but was carefully mentored for 5 years through internship, residency, and fellowship with progressive responsibility but continued mentoring until I was able to manage patients independently. Even after I went into practice, senior physicians were always available for discussing difficult patient cases. Not only did this improve my ability as a physician, it made my work fun as I was constantly learning. 

    I am now a professor of clinical medicine and love the teaching aspect of my work. There is no better way to learn than to teach someone else, so I am still learning, again making my work fun and challenging. We need to develop teachers in the same way. We should have a program for new teachers where they are carefully mentored, starting with fewer classes (not 6 classes with a total of 180 students as I did my 1st year of teaching), allow them to develop confidence with adequate supervision and feedback before they are given a full schedule. We should also develop master teacher's, responsible for curriculum development and mentoring which would encourage long-term involvement with the teaching profession rather than the burn-out so often seen after 5-10 years.
    These changes would make teaching a true and respected profession.
  • Jun 12 2013: This is a really interesting concept and one used in some education facilities in the UK already however I am not sure if the practicalities have been thought out. I know many schools who would come under huge fire for invasion of privacy if they filmed students in this manner. It also sadly leaves open the concern of parents as to how these films are stored, who would have access to them? I think that there is a level of paranoia about things like this however I do not doubt in the age we live in this would be raised, rightly or wrongly.

    Another point I found interesting was the reading ability score board, it is amazing the correlation between countries with teacher feedback and countries at the top of the board however we would need to see the whole list to make a true comparison. I have had friends recently visit who are teaching in China and culturally the old school family values there and influence of older family over the younger generation means my friends have commented the commitment to their own education is noticeably higher than that of those children in the UK, perhaps this mirrors some areas of the USA?

    Great concept and I think it could truly work but in the current climate it would undoubtedly be pulled apart when people realise this is a longer term goal than the quick fix everyone is addicted to.
  • Jun 11 2013: Weird but good topic
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    Jun 9 2013: Nice !!!! The topic is very interesting !![:-bd]
  • Jun 6 2013: it's very great. How do you think the education in China?
  • Jun 6 2013: Love this guy! Bil Gates has saved 5 million child deaths yearly throughout the world and has almost rid of malaria and polio through his research and now he is hoping to improve our education (USA). I happen to agree that this method works because I had done it in (sjc) classes and at home in preparation for important lessons. Great feedback that may also help reglate student behavior in the classroom if they know they are being recorded. I do have to agree that there are also issues with time that are not in our favor as educators @ M Totman
  • Jun 2 2013: Now I am study in one of the university of Taiwan. Although my school has this kind of feedback to our teachers, but I think some of the teachers didn't take this kind of feedback seriously. I agree his point, teachers need to know how is their lesson go on. But if some teachers still use their ways to teach students,so how can it be improved?
  • Jun 1 2013: Interesting that the one resource he doesn't mention is TIME. Another thing that teachers in those "most successful" countries have is proportionally much more time to co-plan with other teachers. We can throw money and technology at the problem but who is willing to provide teachers the time that they need to do the work? I haven't seen it yet.
  • May 29 2013: Do teachers need a way to continue to grow, reassess, learn and improve? Absolutely. Is Bill Gates (ZERO classroom experience) the person to be telling us how to reinvent our education system? Absolutely not. Coroporate influence and control is not the way to a better education system- meeting each student where they are at and working to help them grow based on their interest, strengths, weaknessess, etc...is the only way we can welcome students back to a love of learning. There are FAR too many variables in a students educational experience (personality traits, learning style, homelife, socioeconomic status, family dynamic, etc...) that can't be measured on a test, let alone a video. And that is partially what you are measuring by measuring a teacher- many things are out of a teacher's control. This has to be addressed in our education system as well. Here is a similar idea. Let's video tape all our doctors and have them reflect on their practice and methodology and then hold them accountable for the ridiculous amount of people dying from heart disease every year. 
    The summary of this talk says enough- Bill Gates is a "shrewd businnessman." We don't need the business world in our classrooms. We need students to be passionate about learning again. Standardizing the experience for teachers and students is totally antithetical to that idea.
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      Jun 2 2013: It's like you are the one who miss the point here. Why do you think a video in a classroom is similar with the way Bill Gates handles his business? I never know if he ever uses video to give feedback to his employee. And I don't think Microsoft would be as big as now if he did.

      We've been using a test as feedback for students. But how can we give feedback to teacher? Until now, the best feedback for teacher is by showing them how they actually handle situation in classes, and how they can do it differently. And this is the video-in-class-idea all about. I am a teacher (and also a ceo of an education institution), and I really think this idea might work.

      By the way, please try to follow his argument. And if you don't agree with him, you might say something about it. But please don't attack the person. "He is a guy from business, he will never understand what teachers feel in a classroom". That's not even an argument.
  • May 24 2013: I totally agree with this idea. I have a part time as a teaching assistant. I'm always being afraid how the students really feel, boring, hard to understand or satisfied. Of course I have no way to know how they really feel about my class. If they have some compliments, they make me happy and motivate my attitude better. If they have some complaints, I want to improve my problems and try to teach harder. For both, teachers and students, it's a good way to study together in good mood. So that's why I agree with this video. However there is a problem I think :How to survey. If I were the student answer the survey, It's hard to complain about my teacher. My teacher can know how I answer. So how many students do answer directly or truly? So I think the survey should conduct properly behind the teachers. A class consists of teachers and students. Considering and sharing the ideas each other, students and teachers, makes a better class I think.
    • May 25 2013: What grade do you assist? 
      You need to ask your students - what is your job? Let them answer.Your job is to help students learn, to tap in to how they learn & find a ways to make them understand the material being taught. Explain to students, it is not a personality thing, "if they like you or not"... I tell my students I love all of them, they are Amazing students, but that is not my job.
      Ask the students - Ask the students to summarize the material you have gone over, ask them if you need to clarify, ask them of ways to help other students to learn the material, ask them how you can make the material more exciting to help them learn. I ask students all the time - I explain to students I am there to help them learn - that is my job....What can I do to help them, and what can they do to help each other.

      I don't feel cameras are a good thing. 

      Bill Gates, scrap the cameras .... A waste of time, money and useless bizarre micromanagement.

      Bill Gates, if You want to improve education - SMART boards :) I go class to class every day (24 classes a week, some classes with 37 students) I have classes back to back, I carry my supplies up and down the stairs of 2 buildings, I lost my art room :( BUT I use the SMART board - it saves me from carrying visuals (whew) I use the SMART board to teach art, Art History, art techniques, photos, videos .... I also show Ted videos :)
      • Jul 9 2013: Smart Boards? For elementary or middle school, maybe, but not for senior high school. Those students need to be writing in-depth papers, doing critical thinking, and things that are beyond Smart Boards-- manipulating, students coming up to the front of the room and rubbing a board to move an "object." Most senior high school students despise Smart Boards.
        Very well put, Ms. Black. And the key-- like you said-- would be the training. My comment was that the answer is not simply the actual hard devices of the technology. Sure, install a laptop or tablet on every student desk in a building and a Smart Board in the front of the room-- that won't be the answer; it would be like going back to the stone age and leaving piles of tires or wheels everywhere-- until we figure out how to use these things and how to fully take advantage of the benefits-- as it sounds like you certainly do (and to be honest, there are a couple of teachers in my building who do as well), we have to get at the root of the problems in trying to improve education, which is not-- to me-- simply by increasing technology or funding for technology. It was also interesting to see in the video that every student had a tablet and had their phones out on their desks as well.
        • Jul 9 2013: Hi Christopher - I am a high school teacher who uses the Smart Board every day with my students. I use the graphing calculator feature, the random name generator and random group generator and the feature that rolls a pair of dice for you. I can put up graph paper with many different scales or polar graphing paper. I can project the handouts that I give to my students and write notes on them and these notes can be saved and posted to my website. I can make videos with my Smart Board and post them on my website for students to watch as homework assignments to use in my "flipped classroom." I can access the online textbook and display the page that the homework assignment was on so that students don't need to carry their heavy books back and forth to class. I could continue listing the many uses I find for my Smart Board every day. At this point, I would feel crippled trying to teach without it! I haven't polled my students but I expect that every one of them would say that they appreciate having a Smart Board in the classroom when the teacher knows how to maximize its capabilities.
    • Jun 4 2013: But few teachers think like you.Some of teachers didn't take this kind of feedback seriously.
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    May 23 2013: I really love this talk. Well done.
  • May 23 2013: As someone who has taught both gifted and working class students for over twenty years, I find this talk interesting but unsubstantial. Not suprisingly, Bill Gates puts a lot of emphasis on how technology can solve a complex issue. You can have all the tools you want but in my experience the real improvement will come with working simulaneously on the following:

    A) School districts must hire administrators who know what they are doing when it comes to teacher recruitment. The district superintendent who hired me went to the local teaching programs and asked who were the most promising teachers and then went about actively courting them (this district was in a working class area and not rich and yet professionally it was the best place I cold have worked at). Sounds simple yet so many districts don't do it.

    B) Schools should hire administrators who have not only spent time in the classroom but who have the confidence of their peers. Our adminstrators were so trusted by us and the students that the students would come to them to tell them if other students were about to get in trouble. Those of us that were beginning were given support and hours to watch other teachers. The administrators also trusted us enough to ask us to share in the big decision making. This also creates the climate of trust that makes the majority of teachers want to improve their teaching. You had the feeling that everyone down to the lady who did attendance was there for the kids. School leaders create this climate. 

    C) People have to realize that there is no magic bullet for this and that to be honest, we don't really have an educational system in the US. We have many states who fund education differently, who spend different amounts, school districts that are completely invested in the their schools doing well and others where they are not (hence places where the teaching is not great and others where it is). Use technology but put your real money on the humans.
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    May 22 2013: When I hear his speech I feel awesome and want how to make presentation.
    I am sure he is born to be one of great presenters.
  • May 22 2013: Let me just say Mr. Gates also fails to mention the following factors in the top Asian countries on the list of rankings.
    1) The society puts a lot of emphasis on education, and spends most of their income on education.
    2) In Korea and I'm going to assume Shanghai (considering other Asian countries like Japan also do this) students go to public school from 8:40ish - 3:30ish, then go to private schools to study...sometimes not getting home until midnight. Also, in high school it's mandatory for most of the students to study after school, like study hall, and stay at school until late at night (it's guarded by a guard if students try to leave...reminds me of a jail). Also, there really aren't many sports clubs that kids can do after school, usually only soccer.
    3) Their societies have a great deal of respect for these teachers (although lately I've noticed that's starting to dwindle too).
    4) The teacher feed back, at least in Korea, isn't that serious. Usually it's just teachers praising other teachers, because they don't like to be confrontational.

    I've taught English in Korea for the last 4.5 years, so I've been able to see exactly how the education system works here. And in my opinion it doesn't. Sure, Korea is #2 in the rankings...big deal...If you look at the toll it takes on these young kids, it's not worth it in my opinion.

    Korea has the highest suicide rate especially for young adults, because there's so much pressure on doing well. All the studying they do is for an entrance exam to get into a university, given only once a year (you do poorly...you're screwed).

    So, there's always pitfalls, don't think that their system is perfect!
    • May 22 2013: Other countries don't tolerate failure, here we embrace it (No child left behind for example).
    • Jun 13 2013: I also work as an English teacher in S. Korea. 
      I have an Open Class coming up next week. I expected that to be a normal observation, where some people will come to watch my class, and see how I run my classes. Not so. It's basically going to be a pantomime. I select the students I wish to teach for it, use a smarter room, and have been told to do something completely different for it - ignoring the textbook. I am basically expected to perform to amuse my adult guests. Afterwards, the observers will say nice, face saving things about the class. There will be no proper feedback - there will be absolutely no feedback about my actual classes. 

      My students are generally miserable and sleep deprived. They don't do enough sport or social development. This system is not good for them. I have a load of students who would fail various subjects just plain out of exhaustion, if there wasn't such a culture of cheating in my school. (I guess that's their way of 'not tolerating failure').

      Yes, we need feedback, but the feedback needs to be meaningful and honest.
  • May 21 2013: Stop blaming teachers for kids failing, and blame the parents for not raising their children. I have two girls, both high honor students, because I push and motivate them to do well. We need to focus on who is really responsible here.
  • May 20 2013: I rate this talk: “HORRIFYING”.

    The idea of filming teachers in the classroom to “evaluate” their performance is the essence of 1984 and Big Brother horror stories. 

    That this effort should be funded by major corporations is TERRIFYING. 

    The purpose of teaching in a democracy is to empower people so they can understand the world around them and the choices available and participate in the decisions making process.

    How can a teacher present a balanced view of any important issue if their teaching is subject to micro scrutiny by organizations with a major stake in the outcome? 

    If this suggestion came from a Communist state, the media would be ablaze with indignation. 

    Remember they also only want “happy and productive” citizens.
    • K No

      May 20 2013: It is horrifying .... It is also horrifying and heartbreaking to realize (after reading comments) many think so little of teachers. Sad :(
      • May 22 2013: I've had, and I have seen absolutely terrible teachers. Yes there is such a thing as terrible teachers. You come up with a solution to handle teacher feedback if you disagree with video. Personally, I agree with it. We need a way to judge whether teachers are effective or not, and figure out how we can improve. Just like athletes often review game play footage, teachers need to be reviewing footage of the class room to see what is working and what isn't.
        • K No

          • +1
          May 22 2013: You are right Brian - I have had some horrible teachers in the past too (I complained and switched classes) - but I am not falling for the sales pitch .... cameras are not the answer - not cost effective (a waste of money) and 1984 creepy. Richard Bentley (comments below) suggests some fantastic ways to evaluate teachers.
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          May 23 2013: I agree totally with Katehrine.
          I used camera few years ago to feedback myself. At first it worked but as going times, I recognized that was not a good solution for it. I think the one of best solutions is to communicate with teachers. Actually, they hardly share their lesson information and teaching skills to others. So I suggest that the best feedback is deprived from teachers themselves.
  • May 20 2013: The problem lies with our society. Lack of discipline, and teachers that are under paid, or have other family issue they worry about. China have much higher family values and discipline which is the reason they do so well with education. With so many dis-functional families in this country, there is no magic cure that's going to fix our education system.
  • May 20 2013: Wish I had this kid in my class!

    http://youtu.be/ahyB8jhJfZU
    • May 22 2013: Clear the student wants to learn - he should be in another class
  • May 20 2013: Watching what other teachers are doing requires that the failing teacher care about the students more than themselves. As a former chairman of the Common Council's Education Committee, I don't see how such a voluntary system would be effective. It would still leave failing teachers in place. Considering that I helped to acquire more money to improve the education system, we got very little results for the increased expense. Especially when the education budget represented just over 50% of the entire city budget. As a result, I no longer see money as the solution when cities that had spent less had better results. Rewarding a failing teacher with higher pay didn't work despite the incentives for self-improvement. In a northeast city of over 79,000, we raised teacher pay to be competitive with other industries; and had to make adjustments to other areas of the school and city budgets in order to accommodate teacher salary increases, and got little increase in student performance. The reality of the situation is that we have to improve the system we have. Scrapping it and starting anew does not guarantee the new system will work any better than what we have now. Just look at the dismal the results of the new math. The top-down focus of No Child Left Behind was a failure despite the $5 billion spent on it. And, consider all the other attempts to increase school performance that left us way behind schools in other countries. So, if Bill Gates is stunned there is so little teacher feed back, then It is time for some serious peer review at the local school level.
  • May 19 2013: Applying the ClassroomCam solely to teacher self-improvement would apply it only to teachers who desire to get better. It would not apply to those who are failing teachers who don't seem to care. It is this failing teacher who needs the ClassroomCam the most, despite their resistance, and your making it a self-improvement tool punishes the failing student in order to protect the failing teacher's rights. But, what about the rights of the failing student like me? And, what about everyone else who are forced to pay for the social ills of a poorly educated child as a result of the failing teacher?
    • May 20 2013: I understand your point but it is slightly off.

      A failing teacher will now have the option to improve by watching what others are doing. As a teacher, you very rarely have the option to watch how other teachers - especially the best teachers are doing.

      You are the helpful, caring, considering and curious person who stands up for the poorly educated. 

      Yes it is frustrating, but there are three ways forward. Improving the system you have or moving to a system that has improved. So you can be proud of that system and help by paying taxes to improve it even more. Or last but not least: Create your own system.

      Best regards,

      Samuel
  • May 19 2013: The ClassCam is an interesting idea. However, placing a camera in the classroom only occasionally for evaluation purposes would be like having the principle sit in class. Teachers would know they need to perform well on that day. So the only way the ClassCam concept would work is to make it like a security camera that is always there. This way a panel of educators can monitor a series of random classroom activity and see how well the teacher is effective, and which students in the class are not, without either the teacher or the student knowing they are being evaluated. And, it would provide a security factor as well so that when a teacher wrongly accuses a student of theft and hits the student, like what was done to me as a student, there is a record of the event to protect both the student and the teacher. Or, in cases of mass shootings provide police with live feed of what is going on in the classroom at the time.

    However, doing so has a negative constitutional aspect to it. Those on the far right would be quick to claim the ClassCam is an invasion of privacy by an overbearing government. So the only way for ClassCams to be utilized is to make it part of the teacher's contract that they would have to agree with in order to be employed by the school system.
    • May 19 2013: Hi Dear George Stiller,I think about ClassCam,keep it as a teacher's self-improving way to deal with.Not for educators as well as not gover's action.I meant being a teacher should be aware the way to improve ourselves.
  • May 17 2013: Eight years ago I left the business world to become a teacher. I have spent all eight of my years teaching in a low-income, high-risk elementary school facing all of the challenges that come with working in this environment. While improved teacher feedback is a good idea, it will fail until we deal with a more fundamental issue: we must insist that teachers act like professionals. My position makes me fairly unpopular with my fellow educators, but from what I have seen lack of teacher professionalism is our largest problem. Teachers regularly straggle in at the last minute if not late and immediately leave as soon as the busses are gone. The mere suggestion that a teacher should step up his or her game and work harder is met with scoffs and indignation. There is such an inflated sense of ego in this profession it blows my mind. Teachers are never afraid to claim they have the most important job in the world, or claim that we are the people creating the future. However, ask a teacher how many books or journals they have read of their own volition, or how many hours of professional development one has attended beyond those required and provided by their own district and you will receive a look that will chill your veins. When I told my coworkers that I was enrolling in a 2 year professional development program through one of our local Universities, the most common response was, "Why would you do that?" Before claiming to change the world, demanding that we be "paid fairly," and demanding more respect, my fellow teachers and I need to step up and earn each of these things.
    • May 19 2013: Holy Jason Maxwell,let's march together for better education around the world :).I couldn't help giving you five:).
    • May 20 2013: Remember, if the school system gets more people through the education system, it will also be worth more for the government and suddenly you have an upward positive spiral. Better education, means higher value of education and higher pay. 

      So indirectly, this could certainly help your misunderstood friends. 

      Best regards,

      Samuel
Until recently, many teachers only got one word of feedback a year: “satisfactory.” And with no feedback, no coaching, there’s just no way to improve. Bill Gates suggests that even great teachers can get better with smart feedback -- and lays out a program from his foundation to bring it to every classroom.
A passionate techie and a shrewd businessman, Bill Gates changed the world once, while leading Microsoft to dizzying success. Now he's set to do it again with his own style of philanthropy and passion for innovation. Full bio »

FROM TED'S TV SPECIAL ON EDUCATION

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